Kolkata: Unfazed by Triamool Congresss lamming Narendra Modi for his attack against party supreme Mamata Banerjee, BJP said TMC is free to do anything including taking legal recourse.
"Modiji has mentioned of what has happened. TMC is free to do anything, whatever they want including taking legal recourse. The court is open for all," state BJP president
Rahul Sinha said on Monday commenting on Trinamool general secretary Mukul Roy's outburst against Modi.
Earlier in the day, Roy demanded the Gujarat Chief Minister should apologise publicly or face a defamation case for questioning the sale of Mamata Banerjee's painting.
"Either he has to prove this (charges on sale of paintings) or apologise publicly. Otherwise we will file a defamation case against him," the TMC general secretary said.
Modi, at a rally in Serampore on Sunday, had said "Your (Mamata) paintings used to be sold for Rs 4 lakh, Rs 8 lakh or Rs 15 lakh, but what is the reason that one of your paintings sold for Rs 1.80 crore. I respect art. But who was the person who bought the painting for Rs 1.80 crore".
State BJP spokesman Ritesh Tiwari in a statement said, "He (Modi) sought to know who the buyer was (of the paintings).
"Unable to counter the allegations politically, Trinamool leaders have stooped to a new low making offensive comments and trying to belittle the political discourse.
Unlike the TMC leadership, Modiji did not point fingers at the personal life of Mamata Banerjee," he said.
Meanwhile, Congress appeared to back its former ally Trinamool Congress over "the butcher of Gujarat" description of Narendra Modi, saying though it did not subscribe to the use of the phraselogy, the intent behind it was true.
"While we have always advocated the use of temperate language against our worst political opponents, we do not subscribe to the use of the phraselogy by Derek Obrien, but one has to pierce the veil of words and see his intention," party spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters.
Noting that Derek was referring to the mayhem and violence of 2002 Gujarat riots, he said "there seems to be a semblance of truth in the intent" which the Trinamool leader was trying to convey."
Trinamool Congress last night heaped scorn on Modi, calling him the "Butcher of Gujarat", in an angry retaliation to his no-holds barred attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
"Butcher of Gujarat air-dropped into Bengal. He has no answers to Bengal's development model. So, making personal attacks," TMC Spokesperson Derek O"Brien had said in a series of tweets lambasting the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate after the latter's fresh attack on the party supremo at a rally in Serampore.
